well, two of the three. This past weekend I knocked off two things on my DC Bucket List with Jill and Sarah Wurzburg: The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and watching a Bears game at Union Pub.
I will start with the National Museum of the American Indian as I highly recommend seeing this museum if you live here or plan on visiting. The actual topic of American Indians may or may not be one that interests you but the landscape of this museum, the way it is put together the visual displays is very interesting. Even looking at the structure it doesn’t look like your standard museum building and looks out of place in downtown DC.
I truly enjoyed the set up of the exhibits. This museum was simply fun to walk through. My favorite were the exhibitions on the fourth floor “Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World” and ‘Our Peoples: Giving Voices to Our Histories.” As a visitor you wind around the fourth floor in a circular fashion walking literally into the displays finding yourself immersed and stimulated with video, graphics, artifacts, words and sound. It is remarkable. Even over head there are star-like light displays. I highly recommend taking the required 13 minutes to watch the video, Who We Are also playing on the fourth floor in the Lelawi Theater. The theater room is circular as well and in the middle is a four sided structure with four rug-like panels on each side. The panels are white and obviously going to be the screens for which the images were projected but they look like woven rugs. In the middle of the structure on the floor is a rock and then up above a dome. The entire movie is projected on the “screens” but then additional images appear on the rock at times, over head as well and various artifact boxes light up in the audience seating. It was hard to see it all as I was constantly looking around trying my best not to miss anything—very fun. Down on the main floor in The Potomac atrium live music and performances took place, which can be heard from all levels when you step out of a specific exhibit. For those who enjoy seeing a museum that is unique both inside and out, this museum is a definite must even if you just go for a short visit. My favorite quote that I pulled from the wall was, “When they leave this world, all the K’ixannay (ancestors) go to a place where they can dance forever. So when we pray we ask them to come back and dance with us. During this time, the world is being remade and all of the ancestors are with us. During our Jump Dance, the spirits of the ancestors watch from behind a cedar-plan house. When we conclude our portions of the dance, it’s the ancestors turn to dance”—Mervin George Sr. Community Curartor, 2000. I definitely love the idea of dancing forever J
Then on Sunday I finally made it to see a Bears game at what is known as the only true Chicago Bears bar in the DC area, Union Pub, which is justifiably right near Union Station. To put it quite simply, Bears Game at Union Pub = Good Times Had by All. As you walk in the door it is clear that this is a Chicago Bears bar. At the front entrance is a shrine to none other but Mike Ditka—his photo framed on a table, with candles and a full glass of beer. Once inside, you notice that everyone is in Bears gear. Even the outside area was packed come game time. Personally I wouldn’t want to sit outside of a bar for over 3 hours in 40 degree cold weather but the dedication the Chicago Chicago
And on that note, for those Bears fans out there that are gearing up for the Bears-Packers playoff game on Sunday I leave you with this…
"We thank Ditka, and God, for all they have provided, for the food we eat, the air we breathe, and for the domination enjoyed by a certain team, from a certain town..."
-Bill Swerski SNL
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